The 4 Basic Stances of Hung Gar Kung Fu

In my kung fu school we practice the Hung Gar style. Hung Gar students are known for their low and powerful stances. Strong kung fu means strong legs. The strength of your punches doesn’t come from the muscles in your arms. It comes from the muscles in your legs. Stance training is fundamental to kung fu. It builds up a foundation of strength and endurance. Both are necessary for further training.

In this article, I explain the four basic stances of Hung Gar kung fu:

• Horse stance

• Bow & arrow

• Scissor stance

• Cat stance

These stances are not only necessary to build up strong legs. They are also the foundation of all movements. They provide good foot work. For good kung fu, these stances have to become second nature.

Principles of Kung Fu Stances

There are a few principles for all these stances (and kung fu in general). First, have a straight spine. Practicing stances is tiring. Your legs will hurt after some time and you’ll have the tendency to lean forwards to take some weight off your legs. Don’t do it. The straight spine should extend to the hip and neck as well. Tilt the pelvis forward to straighten the spine in the lower part. For the neck part, bring your chin slightly to your throat while keeping the head high. You will feel a slight stretch in your neck.
Second, keep your knee above your toes. This, of course, is only valid for the legs that hold most of your body weight. It prevents unnecessary strain on your knees and tendons. Also, your body weight will be equally distributed on your foot. This leads to strong and stable stances.
Third, stay calm and relaxed. There should not be any tension in your body. This starts with a calm and happy face, and a regular breath. Your shoulders are relaxed and so is your chest and stomach. You breath deep into your abdomen.

But now, let’s dive into the individual stances of Hung Gar kung fu.

Horse Stance

The horse stance is the most iconic kung fu stance. Every single practice I do the horse stance. It is a great way to strengthen my legs. But more importantly, it strengthens my mind. Why? Because it hurts! After two minutes your quads start to burn. I don’t think that this will ever go away. The horse stance is a mental practice to come at peace with the pain, to don’t be overwhelmed by pain. It’s a form of meditation.

So how to do the horse stance? You start upright with your feet together. You rotate your heels out, roughly 45 degrees. Then, you rotate your toes out, roughly 90 degrees. Then, you rotate your heels out again, about 90 degrees. Last, you rotate your toes so that the feet are parallel again. This is your natural distance for the horse stance. Without moving your feet you lower your body so that your thighs are (almost) parallel to the ground. Remember to straighten your spine and keep your knees above your toes. Your body weight is equally distributed between both feet. Your hands can assume many positions. I tend to have my firm fists at my side slightly pushing my elbows inside. This opens up the chest a little bit and creates a natural tension.

Bow & Arrow

The bow & arrow stance is the foundation of a strong punch. You have enormous stability and a connection to the ground. This connection to the ground allows you to have tremendous strength. A typical visualization of the bow & arrow stance is pushing a car. I prefer another visualization. To be one with the ground. When someone tries to push me, I redirect the incoming force into the ground. And, nobody can push away the ground. If done correctly, this doesn't need any effort. Now, imagine if you punch someone and the force behind it is not your muscle, but the immovable earth.

For the bow & arrow, the weight distribution is 70/30. There are 70% of your body weight on the front foot and 30% on the back foot. Both feet are parallel to one another. You sink your hip so that your front thigh is almost parallel to the ground. To increase your stability, rotate your hip into you groin. The hip should face straight forward. The back leg is fully extended. The front heel and the back toes line up directly to the front. If someone pushes against your shoulders, you should feel the pressure in your back foot heel.

Scissors Stance

The scissor stance is often used as a transition to another stance. Your reach the horse stance by rotation of the hip. This is very quick and powerful. The bow & arrow and the cat stance can be reached by quick movements of one leg. But, the scissor stance is powerful in its own right. Its quality comes from the hip rotation. Attacking is also possible with this stance. But, the main use of this position are blocks. In the scissor stance, you are very quick on your feet, so you can react to your opponent. Again, the hip rotation allows you to evade punches and still remain in contact with your opponents attacking limbs. These soft blocks let your opponent punch into thin air and often topple over.

Almost all your body weight is on the front foot. You must be able to move the back foot without moving any other part of your body. The front foot is rotated by 90 degrees and the knee is above the toes. The back foot slightly touches the ground and the hip is fully rotated into the groin of the front foot.

Cat Stance

The cat stance doesn’t look like a powerful stance but if properly executed it is a mix of a strong and agile position. Yet, it is mainly used for defensive purposes. Of the four basic stances, the cat stance is the hardest to ‘feel’. I still struggle to find the correct sensation in my cat stance. But, if done well, it is the most versatile stance. While sinking on your back foot, you can guide your opponent without him taking notice. And then, suddenly throw a punch with the energy out of your leg. The same leg controls the defensive and offensive motion. This allows very quick combinations that will surprise the opponent.

Like the scissor stance, your whole body weight is on one foot, the back foot. The front foot only tips its toes to the ground. The back foot should be rotated between 60 and 90 degrees. The hip stays flexible but is rotated into the groin for both blocks, and attacks. The front foot should be placed in a way that your groin region is protected by an attack from the front.

Check out this video. A hung gar Sifu explains three of the four stances. You’ll get a better picture of the correct pose during the stances.

Practice Sequence

Practice all four basic stances every day. There is a simple sequence that you can use for daily practice. Keep the principles mentioned above in mind. Also, stay low throughout the whole sequence. Your hands should be firm fists, brought to the side and raised below your armpits.

You start in a low horse stance. Then, move the right foot one foot-length forward and rotate your hip. Distribute your weight into the bow & arrow stance. Move all your bodyweight to the left foot. while moving the right foot to the front while rotating the hip to the right and settle in the scissor stance. Finally, move the left foot forward and you settle in the cat stance. Now, you do all the steps backwards and go back into the scissor stance, bow & arrow, and horse stance. And then, you do the same sequence to the right. Try to pause in every stance for a few moments, don’t get hectic. Breath slowly and keep a relaxed face. Stay low! During the sequence, your head should stay at the same height, even during the transitions. Always rotate around your spine, i.e., hips and shoulders rotate at the same time.

This is a tough practice. But, your stances will become stronger and more stable over time. At some point you won’t have to think about your feet and stances in your regular kung fu practice. The stances start to become second nature.